Le coût et la qualité nutritionnelle des groupes d'aliments: quelle hiérarchie?

Based on the mean retail price of 691 foods grouped in 7 food-groups and 26 sub-groups, and on the consumption of these foods by 4 834 participants to the SUVIMAX study, we estimated the cost, the nutrient density and the excess in undesirable components in 10 MJ provided by each food group and sub-group. Meat/fish/eggs and fruits and vegetables, which are the most expensive sources of energy, have the highest nutritional quality. High sugar, fat and salt containing products and added fats, which are the cheapest sources of energy, have the lowest nutritional quality. Unrefined staples are interesting because they are cheap sources of energy that have a low content in undesirable components. In each group, some food-groups have a higher nutritional quality/price ratio than others, suggesting that, by selecting them preferentially, a healthy diet could be obtained at a moderate cost.